May 9, 2008

Isn’t one of the greatest features of a person their smile? There are a lot of lovely smiles in Hello!Project. At the same time, there are some that are…not so nice. Today, I’m going to write about the best (and worst) smiles in Hello!Project. Don’t worry, there are more good than bad!

October 8, 2007

Just wondering: Why is it, exactly, that Hello!Project is frowned upon in Japan? Sure, there are crazy wota, but that’s no reason to not like it….

I’ve heard stories. You go to a music store [in Japan], and ask the guy behind the counter for some Morning Musume, Maki Goto, etc., and he/she will give you a funny look. Why?

Alright, maybe Tsunku’s done a poor job of picking some members *cough*KoharuSayumiAika*cough*. But we still have Aichan! And Risa! And Eri! And Junjun and Linlin have beautiful voices.

Sales have slumped terribly. Abe Natsumi’s last single (Too Far Away ~Onna no Kokoro) sold 11,817 copies. Or, even worse, Gomaki’s last single sold 14,861 copies (keep in mind that she’s always been more popular than Nacchi), and How to use SEXY sold 14,025 copies.

This couldn’t be happening! Everyone loves Natsumi and Maki! Maki’s first album sold about 104 thousand!

The worst part of it all is Momusu’s sales. “Onna ni Sachi Are” sold only 50, 812 copies. That’s such a slump from “LOVE Machine,” or even more recent ones, such as “Iroppoi Jirettai.” 31,819 copies of SEXY 8 BEAT were sold, only slightly better than the 29,645 copies of “7.5 Fuyu Fuyu Morning Musume Mini!”

As for Aya Matsuura… I’M SICK OF FREAKING AYA BALLADS. “Egao” sold 13,286 copies. I can see why.

I understand that Aya’s in her early twenties now, and can’t be dancing with Momoiro puppets. But other artists who are Aya’s age, or older (outside of H!P, of course) sell wonderfully. BoA, for instance, is only a bit younger, and her last single made it to #3 on the Oricon charts.

But then, BoA can go outside and not be chased by wota. Fans, but not wota.

This may not be quite relevant, as she was never a big soloist, but Yuko’s last single, “Urara,” sold slightly under 4,000 copies. I liked Urara! It was pretty, but not boring.

And poor Maeda Yuki — her last single, “Ai Ai Daiko,” didn’t even sell 1000 copies. Just 720. *sobs* (Maybe it’s not rational to compare her to the other soloists, as she’s enka, but still…)

Berryz single sales, on a more positive note, have increased since their debut.